Hurray, EA has announced a new Sim City title, Sim City Societies. In this fresh-faced take on the town-planning sim, players are able to create urban environments with a specific community 'vibe'. The press release explains it:
"Featuring an all-new, revolutionary feature set, SimCity Societies allows players to construct not only the cities they desire, but create their cultures, societal behaviors and environments as well. Build an artistic city, haunted town, green city, spiritual community or most any society you want!"
It seems the key addition is a new collection of resources named "social energies". Certain buildings produce industry, wealth, obedience, knowledge, devotion, or creativity energies which shape the social feel of your town.
"Players can challenge authority and experiment with what happens when citizens flagrantly disobey power in an unruly Orwellian society. Or if players are feeling happy, they can build a Fun City filled with Ferris Wheels, Gingerbread Houses and Chocolate Factories," continues the press release. I'm not sure which of those two scenarios is the most sinister.
Well, it's an interesting addition to the Sim City recipe, clearly flavoured by the social micro-management of The Sims. In the past, areas have been shaped only on economic terms - areas would be financially rich and therefore 'good' or run-down and poor and therefore 'bad'. Societies is a move to a new model of urban management that recognises transitory fads and cultures - in short, a very 21st century answer to the eighties 'greed is good' underpinning of the original Sim City title.
It's due out on PC in November.
